Palpatine of the Opera
by HelloIamAJedi
Summary: This is the story of the Phantom of the Opera, set in the Star Wars galaxy. Palpatine, a young sith apprentice, spends his time haunting the Naboo Opera house.
1. The Search on Naboo

Chapter One: The Search on Naboo

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or The Phantom of the Opera. All song lyrics are from The Phantom of the Opera, and I do not claim them.

This the story of the Phantom of the Opera, set in the Star Wars galaxy. The story is the same, but the characters have slightly different names. However, it shouldn't be hard to figure out who is who. Sorry if this comes across as weird, but I thought it would be a fun story.

I stepped off the boarding ramp of my ship with a smile. Warm Naboo sunlight shone on my face, glinting off the silver of the ship and the lightsabers at my belt. I instantly liked the planet. It hardly seemed a place for darkness of any sort.

Ironically, the reason I was sent to this planet was to investigate a disturbance in the Force, sensed by a group of visiting Jedi that had passed through this star system recently. It had been five years since the notorious Battle of Naboo, and yet the Jedi sensed that there were still many secrets that the planet held.

We were hunting a Sith Lord. Since the battle of Naboo, the Sith had been reported to have returned, thought no one except Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi had ever seen one. The Jedi Council had no leads to the whereabouts of the Sith, but Jedi teams had been sent to investigate different locations throughout the galaxy. They never found anything. I didn't expect to find anything, either.

The government of Naboo, friendly to the Jedi, was eager to aid us in our search. We planned to begin our hunt in the capital city of Theed, which contained a vast labyrinth of subterranean lakes and caves, many of which were too deep for sensors on the surface, and had never been charted…


	2. The Opera

Now we get to the main story. The first chapter wasn't worth much.

Chapter two: The Opera

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or Phantom of the Opera. All song lyrics from Phantom of the Opera.

My master, Jedi Council member Oppo Rancisis, had grown tired of my company.

There were four Jedi on the mission: me, my master, Padawan Aayla Secura, and Aayla's master, Master Vos. Aayla was my age, and had been my friend ever since I came to the Jedi Order. We had the tendency to be annoying to elder Jedi, and we were bored with the Naboo mission. Five days had passed since we had arrived, and nothing had been found. And after five days of being on our masters' last nerve, they had finally allowed us to explore the city of Theed on our own, granted that we behaved ourselves.

And that was how we ended up at the Royal Naboo Opera House. A galaxy-renowned theater, it had been in existence since the dawn of the Republic. As Aayla and I gaped at the glided halls, the expansive stage, and the high domed ceiling, we were given a detailed history of the Opera by a tour guide.

"As you can see, this theater showcases the majestic splendor of classic Naboo architecture. It has undergone many renovations, however, due to several disasters that have damaged sections of the house."

"What sort of disasters?" Aayla asked.

"The most famous one, by far, occurred nearly seventy years ago. A gigantic chandelier, hung from the main dome ceiling, fell onto the audience during a performance. It did not appear to be an accident. Also, on the same night, a singer was abducted from the stage. Her name was Coristine Daae, and she had an exceptional soprano voice." Our guide turned, and pointed to a holographic frame on the wall. It potrayed a young girl, standing on the glittering stage. Her gown was pure white, and her curly brown hair was covered in diamonds.

"Ah, yes. Coristine Daae. Her story was unusual…"

_Seventy years earlier…_

A young woman stood on the stage of the Royal Naboo Opera House, dressed in the finest gown she had ever worn. She was nervous, being used to the company of the other dancers and actors. But tonight, she was the prima donna, the star of the show. She stood alone on the stage, and her voice rang out over an entranced audience.

_Think of me…_

_Think of me fondly…_

_When you say goodbye…_

She had never expected to sing that song. The prima donna of the theater was Carlotta, a proud, flamboyant singer from Coruscant. Coristine was simply a choir girl, unrecognized. She was an orphan, the only child of her deceased father, and the Opera was her home.

When her father died, he promised her that she would be watched over by an Angel of Music. She dreamed that he would appear, and sometimes she believed that she could hear a voice, singing to her, from behind the walls of the Opera. She found joy in singing, and she sang in hopes that the Angel of Music would hear, and would come to her.

The Angel of Music did hear. Down below the orchestra pit, down below the cellars where the props were stored, in the darkest nightmarish depths of the Opera, a cloaked figure stalked. He turned his hooded head towards the light, and the beautiful voice that floated overhead.

Up in a private box, with full view of the stage, Jedi Knight Rahl heard the voice of Coristine. He had met her long ago, as a padawan, and he had never forgotten her. Her voice made his heart soar with feelings that he had never experienced before. He hung on her every note, enchanted by the girl's soaring song.

Coristine Daae's performance ended with thunderous applause.

Author's note: Well, I hope you like it. And yes, I did make Raoul a Jedi. I know it's silly, but why not?


	3. Through the Mirror

Chapter three: Through the Mirror

"And now, we have come to the dressing-room of the prima donna," our tour guide announced.

Aayla and I stood in the middle of a gorgeous dressing-room, enjoying our tour very much. We were intrigued by the unsolved mystery of the Opera ghost, which the guide was explaining to us.

"It was discovered, not long after the chandelier incident, that the large mirror on the far wall of this room was really a door, leading to a vast system of subterranean tunnels. It is rumored that the Opera ghost, whoever the person in question was, used that door to enter this dressing-room…"

I put my hand up against the glass. Indeed, through the Force, I could sense the dark passageway beyond. A swirl of dark energy passed over Aayla and I as the guide pushed the mirror aside, revealing a dimly lit passage.

_Seventy years earlier..._

Coristine Daae sat in her dressing-room, staring at a rose. Madame Giry, who seemed to know much more about the rumored "Opera ghost" than anyone else, had placed the dark red rose on Coristine's table with the words, "He is pleased with you".

Coristine had never believed in the ghost, and wondered what had caused Madame Giry to believe all that superstitious nonsense. Nevertheless, the sight of the rose, tied with a black silk ribbon, sent chills up her spine.

She tried to push the thoughts of a ghost from her head, and instead considered Rahl, the young Jedi Knight who had visited her shortly after her performance. She remembered him from her childhood, when they had briefly become friends. She didn't think that she would ever see him again…but he was at the Opera, handsome as ever. She smiled, thinking of the light in his eyes when he saw her, and the adoration apparent in his words. Silly Jedi.

She turned to leave her dressing-room, when a cold draft swept in, and all the lighting in the room winked out. She turned around frightfully, looking into the shadows of the room for any sort of intruder…

_Angel of Music… _

She heard a voice, a wonderful voice, singing to her. She did not know where it came from, or who it was. Slowly, her mind slipped into a trance, lulled into a dreamlike state by the powerful and hypnotic voice. Slowly she walked towards her mirror, her expression awed and serene (and looking as if she had had an overdose of prescription medicine).

The voice was so powerful that she hardly even seemed surprised when her mirror turned aside…revealing a handsome young man dressed in thick black robes. A hood hid most of his face, and a mask covered half of it. He put out a gloved hand…and Coristine took it.

The man led her down a dark passageway, through winding cellars, and finally to an underground river. Coristine recognized the man's voice as the voice of the Angel of Music, the voice she knew so well from her dreams. She did not know what to think of him, but perhaps she couldn't think.

"_Sing, my Angel!" _The dark figure commanded, and Coristine was unable to do anything else.

Slowly he took her down the river in a small boat. The dim light shone on the shallow green water, and it rippled away from the boat smoothly as the phantom and Coristine passed over.

Finally the river tunnel ended in a deep cave, five stories underground. The cave was dazzling, partially covered by the shallow green river, and partially a tiny island of sorts. The dark man helped Coristine out of the boat, and led her onto the shore, where all sorts of strange treasures were kept. Instruments, statues, desks and sheets of music cluttered every corner, and the figure stood proudly amongst it all, a living shadow in a shadowy underground world.

The shadow broke into a new song, a slow, smooth, deep song that echoed through the silent cave. Coristine was drawn into the shadow's darkness, letting every note resonate in her heart.

_Darkness stirs and wakes imagination…_

_Silently the senses…abandon the defenses…_

_Turn your face away, from the garish light of day…_

_Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light…_

_And listen to, the Music of the Night…_

His voice rose, becoming a glorious call from his soul. Coristine watched as his eyes seemed to ignite, and he looked past her, feeling the dark power rushing from his voice…

_Close your eyes, and surrender to your darkest dreams!…_

_Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!…_

_Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar…_

_And you'll live, as you've never lived before…_

Coristine hardly knew where she was anymore. She could _feel _the darkness, calling to her, pulling her in. Part of her was frightened, but she couldn't resist it. The music was powerful, and was sending her deeper into the dark side of her soul.

_Let your mind start a journey to a strange new world!..._

_ Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before!..._

_ Let your soul take you where you long to be!..._

_ Only then, can you belong…_

_ To me…_

Coristine continued to listen to the irresistible voice. She retained consciousness, but only until she saw, as clear as if she were standing in front of a mirror, a vision of herself dressed as the phantom's bride. Then she lost consciousness and fainted away.

Gently, the shadow lifted her up, and laid her down comfortably. He gazed lovingly at her angel's face, her eyes closed in peaceful sleep, and he continued to sing.

Author's note: So, that chapter was seriously dark!! But I love the "Music of the Night" song, even though it creeps me out. I hope you liked it.


	4. Young Palpatine

Chapter 4: Young Palpatine

After visiting the Opera house and its underground passages, Aayla and I couldn't stop talking about our little adventure at dinner that night.

"The mirror was really a door, and the passage beyond it had all sorts of trap doors and strange lighting…" I eagerly informed my Master, who was pleased to see that I had enjoyed myself.

"Yes!" Aayla interrupted, "And the passages led to all sorts of caves and rooms deep below the theater. It was really weird. Apparently, there are unconfirmed stories about someone living down there, and the legends are really creepy."

Master Vos nodded. "Most all large buildings here in Theed have levels of secret corridors and storage rooms below ground. It's a tradition of architecture here."

"Yeah, like in the palace!" I exclaimed, "Queen Amidala used them to get past the battle droids during the Battle of Naboo." I paused, my mind still on the main cave at the Opera House. I felt silly and childish for a moment, and yet I had felt…something. A certain feeling in the Force that seemed to be coming from the caves of the Opera.

"Aayla, was it just me, or did you maybe sense…a lot of darkness at the Opera, maybe? I know it sounds funny, but those stories our guide was telling us…well, I've been thinking about them. Do you think someone could have really lived down there?"

Aayla clearly looked disturbed too, as if she had felt just as uneasy as I and had been trying to pass it off as the after effect of a ghost story. Her amber eyes were round in her blue face, and she sighed.

"I don't really think so…how could they? It was just a bunch of stories. But I did feel that…the dark side was _strong_ in that place."

Both our masters suddenly looked concerned and on edge, sensing the fear in our voices.

"This place has troubled you, I can sense." Master Rancisis whispered in his thin, quiet, alien voice, "Where was the darkness centered? What did it feel like?"

"It felt like…" I hardly dared say it, "It really did feel like the essence of a person. A person who is long gone now…"

_Seventy years earlier..._

Far down, far below the streets of the city, below the thousands of individuals who traversed the cheerful streets, below the golden sun, the gilded opera house, and the warmth of daylight, a cloaked figure stood in a cave, watching an angel sleep.

The man who would someday rule the galaxy, and who would become the most powerful sith of all time, was once simply known as the Opera ghost, a figure much speculated on, but seen by few.

The young man contemplated the life he led. He was currently the apprentice of a terrifying sith lord, Darth Plagueis. Plagueis had discovered the young apprentice while the apprentice was still just a boy, and had imprisoned him below the city of Theed. The boy knew the passages and caves of his dark home like the back of his hand, and his existence was only known to one person besides his master. Madame Giry of the Opera House had discovered him, but she left him to himself out of fear and provided a link for the phantom sith to the outside world. Through her, the young man acquired a salary by threatening the managers of the Opera.

He considered himself an extraordinary person, which of course, he was, from a certain point of view. The only thing in the galaxy he feared was his seemingly omnipotent master, yet his master was often gone for months at a time, disappearing to places the apprentice hardly knew of. The apprentice knew that his master would be furious to discover that he had abducted the Opera's newest star, but the young man decided that he would deal with his master if the time came.

When the time came. Soon, his master would be no more.

He looked at his angel's face. Little Coristine was so real, so incredibly real, that it thrilled the apprentice to see her breathe. It had been so long, the apprentice thought, since he had felt the touch of a warm, living hand. He realized, with a sudden shock, that the only explanation for this irrational abduction was that…he loved her.

Or at least he was sure he did. He had never known love, and so this realization disturbed him to the core.

_How could I love her, if I am a sith? Can a sith love? What will I do, what _have _I done?_

Troubled in his blackened soul, the sith apprentice sat and worked on his opera composition, a dark score of music that was his masterpiece. Suddenly he was aware of soft footprints behind him. Coristine crept up without a sound, and put her warm, living hands on his face.

Then suddenly, without warning, she pulled off his mask.

"Curse you!!!" The sith howled, casting her to the floor of the cave. Coristine stared up at him, stricken and terrified.

"Now you cannot ever be free!" he screamed.

Coristine scrambled away from him, looking like she might faint again. The sith apprentice stood over her for a moment, hand pressed to his face. There, by his right eye, he was terribly deformed and scarred. He took his mask and placed it back in its place, then took his thick black hood and pulled it over his head. Quietly, he stepped towards Coristine.

"Come, we must return. Those two fools who run my theater will be missing you," he said, in reference to the managers of the opera house. Carefully, he led Coristine back up into the world.


End file.
